A Fathier's Freedom
by PilotArcher
Summary: Complete. Spoilers for The Last Jedi! The Canto Bight scene, from a fathier's point of view.


_I just got The Last Jedi as a gift and I'm totally freaking out. I couldn't quit smiling when we watched it and the fathier scene played out, and I just_ had _to write a story about them._

 _ **A**_ _ **Fathier's Freedom**_

My jockey's vibro-whip struck my neck again. I flinched and shook my head to clear the pain. I put on a fresh burst of speed, and sprinted to the front of the pack. My jockey slapped his crop on the side of my neck. _Good grief. There is no pleasing this guy is there?_ I thought as I pushed myself harder. I was reaching my limit, and I couldn't breathe very well anymore. My chest was tight as I gasped for breath. I had been running too hard. I flared my nostrils wider in hopes of getting an amount of oxygen to my lungs. I slowed the tiniest fraction, but my jockey noticed, and snapped his whip against my flank this time. I groaned in protest, which earned me another whack.

I was nearing the finish line, but I knew I couldn't make it. I slowed, and the other fathiers ran around me. My jockey cracked his whip over and over again upon my neck and flanks, but I couldn't speed up. I straggled behind the rest of the fathiers, barely making the finish line at a canter. When I reached the yard, my jockey dismounted and tossed my reins at Temiri, one of the young stable hands. I was breathing heavily now, and my head was hot and pounding.

"Stupid animal," the jockey muttered as he walked away. I towered over the small boy, so I dipped my head down to him.

"Hey, girl," Temiri said. He was my only real friend, and he cared about me very much. He patted my nose gently, then took me to get some water. I was soon returned to my cramped stall, where Temiri took my tack off. I wanted to lay down, but I had no room. Temiri sat down in the corner, where a pile of rags served as his bed. My neck and flanks stung from the whip, and I knew I had welts and cuts. I reached my head back to lick the wounds on my flank, but I couldn't reach the ones on my neck.

I looked at Temiri for help. "Sorry, girl. There's not a whole lot I can do." He got up and walked to me. "It's not like I can reach you, either." I dipped my head way down to his level again, and he reached up to try gently to wash the blood off my neck with a rag. I groaned at the stinging sensation. "I know it hurts. I can't get it off real well though. Sorry, baby." Temiri returned to his 'bed'.

I closed my eyes and attempted to sleep. I must've dozed off, because the next thing I heard was a noise just outside my stall. I grunted in surprise as I quickly stuck my head over the gate of my stall. A man in a brown jacket yelled in surprise and fell backwards. A young woman jumped in front of him and laughed. Her eyes lit up and a huge smile was on her face as she craned her neck to see me. She palmed the gate release button and my gate slid open. Temiri leapt up and raced for the alert button on the wall.

"No! Wait! Please don't!" the young woman exclaimed frantically. Temiri took his had away from the alert signal. She slid something off her finger, a ring, I'm guessing. She showed it to Temiri. "We're with the Resistance." Temiri's eyes widened. The other stable hands peeked around the corner and gasped. Angry voices sounded down the corridor and the pair dashed into my stall and slid the gate shut. They began to tell Temiri quietly about the Resistance and how they needed help, but I zoned out after a little while.

The next thing I knew, Temiri was up on a high stool tossing my saddle over my back. He cinched it, then climbed down. The young man and woman climbed up onto my back. The woman handed something down to Temiri, who smiled and slipped it onto his finger, so I'm assuming it was the ring again. She grasped my mane, and the man wrapped his arms around her waist.

A sall force of Canto Bight police entered the stable. They looked around anxiously. Suddenly, there was a tremendous clang, and the doors to _every fathier stall_ slid open. I bolted, as did the other fathiers. The police stared after us in disbelief. I whinnied in joy, so excited to be free.

"Go, go, go, go! Woooo!" Temiri shouted after us, punching his fist in the air.

"Woohoo!" the young woman yelled, laughing in glee.

"Stop enjoying this! Stop enjoying this!" the man shouted, clutching her waist tighter and squeezing his eyes shut. I put on a burst of speed. We blasted down the track, then jumped the rail and crashed through the wall of the casino! A whole herd of us just bolted right down the building, then crashed through the other side. We filed down the road, dodging people and leaping over speeders. "Ship's on the beach! Straight ahead!" the man yelled. "We need more cover!" I dashed down alley even faster than before. I knew I had just about reached my limit, but I had to keep going for these people riding on my back. I knew I just _had_ to. "To much cover!" He yelled as the pair batted some overhanging lights out of their faces.

The Canto Bight police chased after us in small ships. I crashed through a wall with the rest of the fathiers, and we leapt onto the beach.

"There it is!" the man yelled, pointing at a small ship resting on the beach near the water. Suddenly, it burst into flames, shot with laser cannon fire from the police above us. "Oh, come on!" We kept running down the beach, then ran up a rock face into a field with grass taller than me! The police lost us, and continued their search elsewhere. I broke off from the rest of the herd. "I think we lost 'em! Now, if we get back to the beach and circle around-".

The young woman cut him off by screaming, "Cliff!" I skidded to a stop and the people on my back fell off and landed _inches_ from the edge. "Trapped." The woman said, distraught. I walked over to her, as if to offer what little comfort I could.

"It was worth it, though. To tear up that town? Make 'em hurt?" the man asked. The woman turned to me. She reached up and undid the cinch on my saddle. It feel to the ground in cloud of dust.

"Go," she said softly. I trotted a little ways and looked on. "Now it's worth it." she said, glancing at the saddle in the dirt. Just then, a ship rose into the air. I watched as a man and a little droid came out, then the young woman and man got on the ship and they flew away. I glanced up at the sky.

 _Thank you,_ I thought. _Now go. Save the galaxy._


End file.
